Men's Soccer:

2017 Conference Carolinas Men's Soccer All-Conference and Major Awards Announced

Nov 03, 2017

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Lees-McRae College midfielder Tom Deeley was voted the 2017 Conference Carolinas Men's Soccer Player of the Year, while teammate Johannes Oeksnevad was named Freshman of the Year. Belmont Abbey College's Patrick Kibler was voted the Conference's Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, Belmont Abbey's John Keating was named the Coach of the Year, the Conference announced today.

Deeley, a senior from Oxford, England, was one of the most potent player in Conference Carolinas in 2017, finishing the season with 34 points on 13 goals and eight assists. His point and goal totals both ranked first in the Conference, while his assists were good enough for third in league standings. Deeley's offensive output paced the Bobcats and propelled them to a second-place finish in the Conference Carolinas standings with a 7-3-0 league mark and 11-4-3 overall record.

Kibler, a senior from Cape Coral, Fla., started every game for Belmont Abbey, anchoring a strong defensive unit. The Abbey finished third in the conference with 21 goals against and a 1.29 goals-against-average. Only five times this season, did an opponent score more than one goal against the Crusader defense. Kibler also added four points on the season, tallying one goal and two assists.

Oeksnevad, a native of Hemmersaak, Norway, paced all Bobcat freshmen in 2017 totaling six goals and two assists for 14 points. His six goals and 14 points ranked inside the top-15 of the Conference Carolinas standings and his play helped Lees-McRae capture the No. 2 seed in the Conference Carolinas Men's Soccer Championship.

Coach Keating led Belmont Abbey to a third-place finish in Conference Carolinas with a with a 6-3-1 mark and a 9-5-1 overall record in 2017. After a ninth-place finish in 2016 and a 4-6-0 conference record, The Abbey was selected to finish eighth in the 2017 preseason poll. Keating led the Crusaders to the team's best finish since 2010 with a prolific offense that finished second in the Conference in goals scored (36). Keating worked with five all-conference selections in 2017, including the Defensive Player of the Year, Patrick Kibler.

Joining Deeley in the middle as first team midfielders is Limestone College's Noah Sale and Belmont Abbey's Juan Villa. Sebastian Loibl of University of Mount Olive headlines the first team forwards, with Ruairi Croskery of Limestone, Pol Vassart of Lees-McRae and Grant Kiker of Southern Wesleyan University rounding out the group.

The defensive unit is headed up by Limestone goalie Thomas Osborne and Jamie Smith, with Lees-McRae's Harvey McMorrow and James Scott of Chowan University rounding out the backline.

Men's All-Conference First Team

Sebastian Loibl, Mount Olive – Forward

Ruairi Croskery, Limestone – Forward

Pol Vassart, Lees-McRae – Forward

Grant Kiker, Southern Wesleyan – Forward

Tom Deeley, Lees-McRae – Midfielder

Noah Sale, Limestone – Midfielder

Juan Villa, Belmont Abbey – Midfielder

Jamie Smith, Limestone – Defender

Harvey McMorrow, Lees-McRae – Defender

James Scott, Chowan – Defender

Thomas Osborne, Limestone – Goalkeeper

Men's All-Conference Second Team

Pol Monells, Barton – Forward

Johannes Oeksnevad, Lees-McRae – Forward

Terell Williamson, Chowan – Forward

Tolly Beatson, Barton – Midfielder

Gareth Greene, North Greenville – Midfielder

Luca Thuyl, Limestone – Midfielder

Carl Kennedy, Chowan – Midfielder

Dominic Boland, Limestone – Defender

Javier Anton, Limestone – Defender

Toby Sims, Chowan – Defender

Miguel Uribe, Southern Wesleyan – Goalkeeper

Men's All-Conference Third Team

Mark Trompeter, Belmont Abbey – Forward

Dimitri Ney, Limestone – Forward

Lee Wattam, Chowan – Forward

Nathan Watt, Lees-McRae – Midfielder

Faber Bickerstaffe, King – Midfielder

Josh Baker, Chowan – Midfielder

Patrick Kibler, Belmont Abbey – Defender

Nando Morales, Belmont Abbey – Defender

Ben Allan, King – Defender

James Morgan, Lees-McRae – Defender

Wes Holifield, Belmont Abbey – Goalkeeper

Player of the Year

Tom Deeley, Lees-McRae

Defensive Player of the Year

Patrick Kibler, Belmont Abbey

Freshman of the Year

Johannes Oeksnevad, Lees-McRae

Coach of the Year

John Keating, Belmont Abbey

Men's Soccer Regular Season Champions

Limestone College

Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 11 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, and Southern Wesleyan University. Emmanuel College is currently completing the NCAA DII membership process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.